Facebook Home Development Team, Disbanded!

Ever since sales of smartphones skyrocketed across the globe, Facebook has made huge efforts to be a major part of everybody’s mobile experience. Some of FB's notable products made specifically for mobile use include their apps for all major platforms, as well as Instagram. However, one of its creations might say goodbye in the near future. As it appears, Facebook has disbanded the team responsible to work on Facebook Home – Facebook’s own version of a homescreen launcher replacement app.

With a few more weeks before turning a year old, Facebook Home was one of many efforts to deeply integrate Facebook into an Android smartphone - even partnering up with HTC to deliver the HTC First, the Android device that ships with Facebook Home as its stock homescreen launcher.

From my post last year regarding Facebook Home, what the app does is that it makes it easier for the end user to view photos posted on Facebook and send messages to friends by making it accessible straight from the homescreen of the phone without the need to open the Facebook app, or any other third party apps for that matter. Despite the easier access to Facebook, Home is having a hard time catching up on other third party launchers with regards to user downloads and installation.

It is true for me that Facebook Home had a lot of headroom to improve on, but I think the main reason that the app failed to be a huge hit was because users were already satisfied with having only the Facebook for Android app. Plus, competition was already fierce when Home entered the fray with competition coming from Go Launcher, Nova Launcher, and many others. On the other hand, Facebook Home gave birth to the nifty “Chat Heads” feature, where you can continue your conversations with your friends on top of any app that is currently running. I think Facebook should create more of those features that focus on productivity rather than convenience. I mean, you could put a lot more on your homescreen (such as calendar reminders, power toggles, and various other widgets) rather than focusing it all on Facebook status updates, right?

Currently, I am using the Google Experience Launcher from my custom ROM because of the one swipe access to Google Now. With that, I can easily check any information that I have configured with Google Now – weather, search results, traffic, etc. Later on, I can just open the Facebook app and check my notifications and my news feed from there.

How about you, TP Friends? Anyone there still using Facebook Home? How has it changed since last year? Or what are the key elements that make the other third party launchers better than Facebook Home? Let us know in the comments below!

#TPWriterFellows Batch 1 Member and DLSU student, Nico Aguila is the self-proclaimed 'official' tech support guy of his friends. He's always ready to give you tips and tricks with Android devices and even gives you advice on which phone or tablet you should get whether it be running on Android, iOS, or Windows Phone operating system. Nico sees TechPinas as the best tech website in the Philippines and also as his safe haven when he reads tech news that is happening in the country. When he graduates, Nico plans to find a stable job in tech, have a family when he can, and of course, expose his future kids to technology and TechPinas so that they'll enjoy great bonding times together.